Is Your Supermarket Chicken Poisoning You?

March 02, 2011 |
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Microbiological tests carried out by an independent laboratory found Campylobacter contamination on the packaging of fresh chicken purchased at many of Britain's leading supermarkets. Experts say the problem is bad enough that shoppers handling packaged chicken should take the same precautions as if touching the raw meat itself.

Symptoms of campylobacter infection usually include diarrhea and stomach cramps. There can be more serious complications, especially among the young, elderly and ill.

According to the Daily Mail:

"Campylobacter was detected on the outside of the packaging of eight of the 20 samples, or 40 percent. The pathogen was found in the meat of seven samples -- 35 percent. What was interesting was that there was no link between the positive results they found on the meat itself and on the external packaging...

This clearly suggests the item had become contaminated at some stage between packaging and the chicken's arrival on the shelves."

Do we have to start handling our poultry packages as if they are hazardous waste? Although I make that remark kind of tongue-in-cheek, this latest study would suggest this is not so far from the truth. More glaring evidence of unsafe practices in our food industry—highlighting the need for farms to clean up their acts.

In terms of the bacterium Campylobacter, the latest statistics may surprise you.

Campylobacter is the fourth leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., behind Norovirus, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens.

Campylobacter rates of infection have actually decreased by 25 percent over the last decade (but are still unacceptably high).

CDC projects that 845,024 people will contract Campylobacter infections in 2011; of those, 8,463 (15 percent) will require hospitalization, and 76 will die.

The most common form of Campylobacter causing human disease is C. jejuni. Campylobacter bacteria are unique in that they secrete an exotoxin that is similar to cholera toxin, although the immunological significance of this remains unclear.

Like Salmonella, the incubation period for Campylobacter is typically between 1 and 3 days, but symptoms can appear in as little as two hours, according to the FDA's "Bad Bug Book".

The only way to determine if you have Campylobacter versus another foodborne infection, such as Salmonella, is by having your stool tested.

If you are found to have Campylobacter infection, you will likely recover on your own without treatment within two to five days, providing you drink plenty of fluids to prevent becoming dehydrated. In rare cases, Campylobacter can cause far more serious problems than a miserable case of gastrointestinal distress.

Campylobacter and Guillain-Barré Syndrome

A type of arthritis, as well as neurological problems, have been reported secondary to Campylobacter poisoning, although these reactions are not common.

The climbing rates of antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter infections, in addition to other superbugs, is largely attributable to the overuse of antibiotics—a practice that remains rampant in the conventional poultry farming industry.

Agricultural Antibiotic Overuse has Created Tougher Human Diseases

Antibiotic-resistant diseases have grown exponentially in recent years as a direct result of the vast overuse of antibiotics in both the medical system and conventional livestock farming, including poultry farms. Chicken products from conventional farms are actually up to 460 times more likely to carry antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains than organic, free-ranging, antibiotic-free chicken products.

How does giving chicken antibiotics increase your risk for developing an antibiotic-resistant infection?

Chickens and turkeys normally harbor Campylobacter in their digestive tracts without becoming ill. Antibiotics don't completely eliminate Campylobacter from the birds' intestinal tracts, so the surviving bacteria are the tougher ones that have resisted being killed off by the antibiotics. Those bacteria proliferate in the birds and end up being passed on to you—along with their antibiotic-resistance.

Campylobacter bacteria are found on chicken carcasses in slaughterhouses and in commercial poultry products—and now, we discover, even on the outside of poultry packaging—where they can easily infect you, your children, or your pets.

The worst scenario is when healthy chickens, as well as sick ones, are given antibiotics unnecessarily.

Still, the U.S. meat industry is extremely resistant to the idea of getting rid of these drugs, and I don't think we'll see any major change in this area unless or until laws are enacted to curtail its use.

Until then, it's up to YOU to make good choices about the products you purchase.

But labels can be deceiving. Less-than-ethical manufacturers are coming up with new and trickier ways to fool you. A prime example is Tyson Foods, the second largest chicken processor in the U.S., which injects its chickens with antibiotics before they hatch—and then labels them as "raised without antibiotics."

Back to Basics: The Hand Washing Primer

Good old-fashioned hand washing is one of the oldest and most powerful antibacterial treatments. Despite our increasingly high-tech society and the introduction of antimicrobial soaps and harsh disinfectants, plain soap and water still can't be beat.

If you've handled meat or poultry products in the grocery store—and this applies even if you've only touched the wrapper—it would be a good idea to wash your hands before you do anything else. This also applies to your children, who may have fingered the goodies in your cart! To make sure you're actually removing the germs when you wash your hands, follow these hand-washing guidelines:

Use warm water and a mild soap

Work up a good lather, all the way up to your wrists, for at least 10 or 15 seconds

Make sure you cover all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers, and around and below your fingernails

Rinse thoroughly under running water

In public places, use a paper towel to open the door, since door handles are prolific germ breeding grounds.

Since the outside of poultry packaging may be contaminated, it might also be a good idea to place meat products in a separate bag, decreasing the opportunity for cross-contamination with the other items in your cart, like produce.

Even if you are buying organic, free-ranging poultry products, a clean product could have become contaminated right there at the grocery store by sharing the meat bin with contaminated products—all it takes is physical contact between packages. Once you are home, kitchen hygiene is the next important step in preventing foodborne illness.

Raw meat is the main source of disease-causing bacteria in your kitchen. The highest levels of contamination are in damp areas, such as your kitchen sponge or dishcloth, kitchen drains, and the faucet handle.

Here is where you can actually use your microwave safely and effectively: research has shown that zapping your WET sponge or dishclothin the microwave for just two minutesis enough tokill 99 percent of the living pathogens.